Ep. 05 Website Must-Haves: 5 Things Your Website Needs In Order To Convert Visitors Into Clients
Let's face it - you've spent countless hours perfecting your services, defining your ideal client, and creating content to attract them. But if your website isn't converting those visitors into paying clients, all that hard work might be going to waste.
Studies show that visitors will decide whether to stay on your website within the first 10 seconds. That's not a lot of time to make an impression! The good news is that with a few strategic adjustments, you can transform your website from a digital business card into a client-converting machine.
Listen to this episode now 👇
Or listen on your favorite platform: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | YouTube
1. Clear and Compelling Messaging
The first (and arguably most important) element of a high-converting website is clear messaging. Within 3-5 seconds of landing on your site, visitors should understand:
What you do
Who you do it for
What step they can take next to work with you
This information needs to be in the "above the fold" section - the part of your website that shows up before someone starts scrolling. And yes, you absolutely need a call-to-action button there (like "Book a Call" or "Learn More").
Common Messaging Mistakes:
One of the biggest mistakes I see is starting your homepage with "Hi, I'm [name]" and diving straight into your life story. While your personal journey has a place on your website, it's not in the prime real estate of your above-the-fold section.
Another trend I've noticed is using flowery, cutesy language that doesn't actually communicate anything specific. For example:
"Helping ambitious women who have a strong heart for service grow into confident business owners who love the life they've created."
What does this actually mean? A clearer alternative would be: "Business coaching for female service providers." This makes it immediately obvious what you do and allows visitors to quickly self-identify as your ideal client.
2. User-Friendly Design and Navigation
Your website should be stupidly easy to use. Period.
This means having clear navigation at the top of your website where people expect to find it. Don't get creative with placement - do what people are expecting.
When naming your navigation items, call things what they are. If you have a blog, call it a "Blog" - not "From the Desk Of" or "Love Notes." People know what a blog is, so just call it that.
In UX design, there's something called the "three-click rule" which states that visitors should be able to find what they need within three clicks. Personally, I aim for two clicks:
Land on homepage → click to services page
Read about services → click to book a call or purchase
Mobile Responsiveness is Non-Negotiable
In 2025, over 50% of website traffic comes from mobile devices. If your site doesn't load quickly or function well on a phone, visitors won't pull out their laptop to try again - they'll just leave.
Design Don'ts:
Using fonts that are too small (stay at 16pt or larger)
Going overboard with colors
Poor contrast between text and background (this is also an accessibility issue)
Cluttered layouts with huge blocks of text
Excessive animations
Remember: simpler is better. The goal is for people to easily consume your information.
3. Include Enough Information for Decision-Making
This might seem obvious, but I've audited countless websites where I still don't know what their packages are, how to work with them, or what their process looks like after reading the entire site.
For someone who wants information before contacting you, this is a deal-breaker. They'll simply move on to someone who provides that clarity.
What to Include:
Service Overview: What you offer and how clients know if they're a good fit
Package Details: Specific deliverables and scope
Pricing: This one's controversial, but I'm firmly in the "put your pricing on your website" camp. At minimum, include "starting at" prices to give visitors a ballpark figure. This prevents awkward situations where you get through an entire discovery call only to find out your prospect was expecting to pay a fraction of your rate.
Process Details: What does working with you look like? How long does it take? This helps set expectations. For example, if you're a website designer who needs 8-12 weeks to complete a project, someone who needs it done in a month will know not to waste your time (and vice versa).
Social Proof: Testimonials are king here. Video testimonials are ideal, but written ones work too (just try to link to the person's website or social profile to establish credibility).
Portfolio/Case Studies: Showing past work demonstrates that you can successfully deliver on your promises.
Tangible Results: This is becoming increasingly important. In a world where there are countless options for online services, potential clients want to know who's legitimate. Having concrete results to share will set you apart.
Including this information saves you time in the long run by reducing back-and-forth questions and helps you stand out from competitors who make potential clients do extra work to get basic information.
4. Optimize for Lead Generation
Make it easy for "warm leads" to identify themselves and take action.
Clear Calls to Action:
Use button colors that stand out against your background
Include multiple CTAs throughout each page
Use clear, straightforward button text (say "Book a Call" instead of "I'm Ready to Transform My Life")
Offer Lower-Commitment Options:
Not everyone is ready to book a call or purchase immediately. Provide alternatives for those who aren't quite ready to pull the trigger by offering freebies or opt-ins that allow you to collect leads and nurture them over time.
Think: quizzes, free resources, audits - things that get people on your email list so you can continue marketing to them until they're ready to work with you.
Where to Place Your Opt-ins:
Announcement Bar: At the top of your site (can rotate between promotions and evergreen opt-ins)
Pop-ups: I know people cringe at this, but they work! You can implement them tastefully, and they consistently convert better than other placements.
Within Blog Posts: Sometimes the first page someone lands on is a blog post, so include relevant opt-ins that match the content.
Services Page: Give people who aren't ready for your services a way to stay connected.
Make Contacting You Easy:
I can't tell you how many websites I've visited where I just wanted to ask a quick question but couldn't find any contact information. Don't limit options to "Book a Call" or "Fill Out This Inquiry Form." Include a simple contact page or form for general questions.
5. SEO and Performance Optimization
Full transparency: I'm not an SEO expert. For in-depth SEO work, I recommend hiring a professional (reach out if you'd like a referral). However, here are some basics you can implement yourself:
Quick Load Speed:
Minimize unused code (leftover CSS/HTML from removed elements slows down your site)
Compress images (use JPEGs at 72 DPI for web - not huge 25MB print-ready files)
Test your site using Google's Page Speed Insights tool
Basic SEO Essentials:
Connect Google Analytics AND Search Console (they serve different purposes)
Set up a Google Business Profile (yes, even for online businesses)
Incorporate keywords naturally into your copy and image descriptions (rename images from "image_12345" to descriptive terms related to your business)
SEO-Friendly Blogging:
Put yourself in your audience's shoes: What questions are your potential clients asking Google? Create content that answers those questions.
For example, as a brand designer, I create content on topics like "3 Ways to Know If It's Time for a Rebrand" and "Color Theory for Beginners" because these are topics potential clients search for before hiring someone like me.
For content topic ideas, try:
AnswerThePublic.com
Google search suggestions
AI tools like ChatGPT
Taking Action
There's a lot here, so I recommend going back through and identifying the low-hanging fruit - quick changes you can implement immediately to improve your site.
Most importantly, make sure you have Google Analytics connected so you can track whether these changes are making a difference. Check your stats weekly (or at minimum monthly) to see what's working and what needs adjustment.
Want personalized feedback on your website? Book a free 5-minute brand audit where I'll review your website and branding materials and provide tailored recommendations for improvement.
Weekly Shoutout
This week I want to shout out my friend and SEO and digital marketing strategist Danielle Ziegler of Ziegler and Company Digital Marketing. Danielle has been working with our team over the last year on a huge brand and website overhaul that's launching soon, and she’s also going to be working with some of our clients on SEO strategies for their websites, which is a super exciting partnership. If you need SEO or digital marketing support, I highly recommend reaching out to Danielle and her team.
🔗 Links & Resources Mentioned In The Episode:
➡️ Sign up for your Free 5min Brand Audit
➡️ Follow me on Instagram @spechtand.co
➡️ Book A Discovery Call With Morgan
➡️ Learn more about The Six Figure Brand Society
➡️ This week's shoutout: SEO & Digital Marketing Strategist Danielle Zeigler
🎧 Listen to episode 5 of The Six Figure Brand Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and YouTube
